Notes before reading: Some of the names in the dialogue will be said as they are pronounced, but in normal writing, the names will be spelled as they are. (ie. Yo-hansen = Johansen).
Read and review as well, but only constructive criticism. Flames will be met with ice, cold water.
I do not own X-Men Evolution, I only own Grace, Tika and Meredith.
"Monstrosity"
"Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years."
-Richard Bach
Chapter One: "From Britain with Love"
"Give it back, Maximoff." Lance hissed through clenched teeth.
He was glaring at the snowy-haired teenager in front of him, who was dangling a picture of a pretty brown-haired girl right in front of Lance's face.
"Thencomegetit, Alvers." The snowy-haired boy teased before taking another look at the picture. "Yourgirlisprettyhot,foranX-Geek,andaJew."
Lance tried getting the fast-talking boy in a hook to the jaw, but he disappeared.
"Pietro! Get your ass over here!" Lance bellowed, furrowing his brows.
Pietro spoke again, but this time it was above Lance. He was resting on the shallow nook above the large double doors next to Lance.
"Ididn'tknowthatyouwantedmethatmuch, Lanceykins." He said in a mock-baby voice, smirking. "Here." He threw the picture at Lance, who caught it in one grab. "TakeyourJewish-"
The bell rang before Pietro could finish his slur, he disappeared again and Lance saw a white flash running up the stairs. Lance sighed and smoothed the picture of the girl out and gently put it back in his wallet. The double doors would be opening with a large influx of students. Lance hurriedly scaled the steps to the Chemistry room; he would be having a lab with Kitty, and he would not miss it for the world.
Todd Tolensky on the other hand, did not find Chemistry interesting at all; as the final bell for class rang, he sat on the school roof, a lit cigarette in his hand. He found mixing chemicals to be the most boring act in the universe, and that Lance and Kitty were way too lovey-dovey during labs for his liking. He inhaled and exhaled the sweet tobacco through his mouth, the heat filled him with warmth; yet his esophagus clenched because of the many irritants. He noticed that the cigarette was almost burnt up so he dropped it on the concrete and extinguished it with his shoe. He jumped when he heard the sound of a crack and smelled brimstone; he looked over his shoulder to see Kurt standing behind him, arms crossed and an uncharacteristic scowl on his face.
"Whaddya want, X-Geek?" Todd asked, looking back at the fence.
"Yuk! Haff you been smoking again?" Kurt asked, covering his nose.
"Yeah, I have. What of it?" came the more-than-toxic reply.
"Vell, Mista Yo-hansen knows that you are present, so he told me to get you to class. NOW." Kurt said through his clenched mouth.
"Mista Yo-hansen can suck it. I ain't comin' in." Todd snapped.
Kurt gave him a disapproving look.
"He's one of the few teachers who has not given up 'ope on you." He said.
"I don't need 'em. Screw 'em all." Todd said, smirking.
"Just tell Yo-hansen that I left early."
"No, I vill not. Zat ist lying." Kurt scolded.
"Pssh." Todd hissed. "Fine, fine, X-Geek, I'll go. Just don't let me sit next to Lance and that Catgirl of yours."
Good. Ze only open seat is next to me." Kurt stated.
"Betta than those two, I guess." Todd muttered, rolling his eyes.
After a warm welcome from Mr. Johansen, Todd and Kurt took their seats and prepared for their lab. Pencils and pens were soon sprawled on the desk, as well as two, thick, battered-looking notebooks. Todd stared at the matches and the Bunsen burner that Kurt had set aside on the desk.
"We gonna burn the school down?" Todd asked.
"No, we vill change ze color of ze vlames." Kurt said nonchalantly. "Because of ze chemicals ova there." He pointed at the many bottles on Mr. Johansen's desk.
"Vlames, huh?" Todd asked softly.
After the bottles were retrieved, the two returned to the desk. The lab proceeded with Kurt holding the chemically enhanced matches over the burner. One was very orange, the next blue, green, yellow and then a blood red. As Todd began to doze off, Kurt said something to catch his attention.
"We are getting a new student today, at the Institute." He said.
"The hell? Don't ya have so many already?" Todd asked abruptly.
"Vell, our accommodations are rather large, if you haff not noticed." Kurt said.
Todd rolled his eyes and sighed, but agreed.
"Another X-Geek, just what we need." He hissed. "You guys are gettin' really overpopulated."
"Vell, the mutant gene is becoming very prevalent-" Kurt began.
"I didn't need yo' scientific explanation." Todd cut in. "Where's the freak from, anyway?"
"She's from Britain, I'm told." Kurt continued.
"So another funny talka like you?" came the retort. "Great."
"No. It's just somebody else to help us defeat the Brotherhood, the Acolytes and the everyday evils that we face." Kurt said, smirking.
Todd looked taken aback at first, and then a taut smirk spread over his face.
"Anotha punchin' bag, yo. Fred is definitely gonna enjoy this." He said.
Kurt was the first person out of the school doors when the bell rang, he ran out to the nearby red Porsche and threw his bag into the backseat. He leaned against the car doors for a few seconds, but then the alarm went off. Kurt jumped and gasped, but then gave the car an annoyed look. A few minutes passed before Scott walked out of the school, looking as exasperated as he possibly could. He sighed and pressed a button on his car-key pad, and the alarm died instantly.
"Must you always be like this when a new student arrives?" Scott asked, smiling slightly.
"You don't seem very eager!" Kurt criticized.
"I just know how to contain it." Scott retorted. "Now get in the car."
"What about Jean and Kitty? Shouldn't we wait for them?" Kurt asked.
"They'll meet us at the mansion later." Came the explanation.
The two boys got into the car and Scott started the engine, soon they were on the road. Kurt slightly shivered as the cold air hit him in the face; later on it was comforting as it swept through the fur. He closed his eyes and felt calm, even the music that was blasting from Scott's radio did not reach his ears. The winds did not have the same calming effect on Scott, though; as he was sometimes singing along with the lyrics and masterfully cutting off slower cars.
"Oh, great." Scott muttered.
Kurt broke away from his reverie and looked around; his eyes fell on Lance Alvers' car. All of the boys in the Brotherhood were packed and cramped into the green hunk of metal; right in front of the red stoplight. Scott could not pull into the other lane, so they had to pull up next to the Brotherhood. The two X-Men heard snickers from the other car; then Todd's high, piercing voice punctured the airwaves.
"Hey! X-Geeks! Where's the new punchin' bag?" he called.
Scott looked at Todd, a bit surprised; then gave Kurt a questioning look. Pietro was the next one to speak.
"Issheactuallygonnabehot?" Pietro asked. "LikeI'dsleepwithanX-Geekanyway."
"A much better choice than you, I'm sure." Scott retorted.
Pietro jumped slightly, was about to snap back, but he was interrupted.
"Prepare her for a little initiation kick." Lance began.
The red light above them disappeared and the green light shined, so Scott pushed the gas pedal and zoomed off.
"Kurt-you TOLD them?" he asked.
"Yeah, but only to Toad, mostly for intimidation." Came the nervous laugh.
Scott sighed and turned early to avoid having to stop next to the Brotherhood again.
"Thank God above that the Professor told you nothing about her powers." Scott declared.
After about fifteen minutes of driving (and evading the Brotherhood), Scott and Kurt arrived at the mansion. Scott pulled into the garage; he and Kurt hurried out of the car and into their home.
"Where do you think she is?" Kurt asked, looking around frantically.
"Probably wandering, or asleep with heavy jetlag." The brunette suggested.
"Found 'er." Kurt called.
He pointed to girl who was coming down the stairs. Her hair was black and chin length, it was as tangled and curly as haphazardly twisted telephone cords. Her eyes were a bright grey (albeit extremely bloodshot). Her skin was a bit tanned; she wore a short, floral-print dress and flat sandals (a horrid choice for clothes in the early winter). She was reading the fine print on the back of a bottle of medication.
"Um…hello." Kurt said softly.
She looked startled and nearly fell down the stairs, but grabbed onto the railings for support. She smiled slightly; Kurt took notice that her canine teeth were longer and sharper than the average length.
"Hello. 'Ar yew two my 'ousemates?" she asked in a broken Cockney accent.
"Yeah." Scott said. "I'm Scott Summers."
"Ont I am Kurt Wagner." The shorter boy said.
"I'm Grace Hastings. Nice teh bloody meet yew booth." She said. "I thoot that thar would be mor' people."
"There are…just not 'ere yet." Kurt said. "Do you need a tour?"
"Nah, thank 'ee though. Professor Xavier already gave me the grand tour. But er…is it normal for that big guy named Logan to scare the 'ell-" she started.
"Don't worry, he's er, nice." Scott declared. "Right, Kurt?"
"Ya! You can say that." Came the reply. "He loves us all so much."
Grace seemed bemused and yawned, the two boys noticed that her lower canine teeth were sharp and long too.
"So, the Professor said somethin' about a group…the Bruthahood, I think?" she explained, giving them a sharp look as if her question was of the urgent sort. "'Ho are they?"
"They are mutants, like us. They did not join to choose the X-Men…but they are…" he looked at Scott like he wanted the older boy to provide a better word.
"Crooked. Very, very crooked." Scott said quickly.
"'Oor enemies then, correct?" Grace asked, pulling her lip into a half-pout.
"Well, sometimes they help us," Kurt admitted. "But that does not matter now; you might be receiving their joyous reception tomorrow."
"Great." Grace muttered, shaking the pill bottle.
"So…what can you do?" Scptt asked. "I can blast optic lasers.
"And I-" Kurt disappeared in a puff of smoke and then reappeared three feet away. "…can teleport."
Grace stared at them and shifted uncomfortably, soon looking down at her sandals. Scott and Kurt stiffened, they became tense.
"You don't have to tell us…" Scott added quickly.
"Yeah!" the blue elf agreed. "O-our apologies, Grace."
"It's…not a problem." She said, smiling half-heartedly, looking up at them.
The two sighed, fearing disappointment that they did not give a good first impression.
"I'd better go sleep. Lots of jetlag." She said, her smile becoming more pronounced.
"See ya at dinner." Scott said.
Once she was gone, the two gave each other the "we-blew-it" look.
Grace was not present at dinner that night; but early in the morning, Kurt was woken up by talking and shuffling from outside of his room. He hesitantly got out of bed, and slowly opened the door to see Grace and Bobby standing by his room.
"And this is the lair of the rare fuzzy blue elf, he is usually found during the day wearing the holowatch- which makes him look like a human for the bigoted mutant presences of Bayville High School." Bobby said, whispering.
"B-bobby!" Kurt hissed, not wanting Grace to find out about his true form so early, and so unceremoniously.
The two jumped and Grace saw him in his true, fuzzy blue form. But she did not scream, nor did she back away. She just stood there, looking at him. She nodded her head in recognition, but said nothing. Kurt relaxed and nodded back; he knew that he was totally accepted by the new student.
"Go back to sleep, Kurt." She said softly.
Kurt said goodnight back, but gave a look at Bobby as he closed the door.
"Well, er…should we continue the tour? From Kitty and Rogue's room to the soda stash?" the brunette boy asked, grinning slightly.
"Yeh." Grace said, smiling back at him.
As the two walked on, Grace was happy that it was dark and that Bobby could not see her blushing.